this one (better) time…

ok so it wasnt quite knitting camp. actually, it was heaps better.

this last weekend was one of the best weekends ive had in a very long time. 9 of my favourite people, a trip to the lovely victorian countryside and a weekend of knitting, eating, drinking and laughing. knitabulous, webgoddess and missfee have already put up some great photos, and theirs are better than mine, though i do have some incriminating ‘knitting in pyjama’ shots. so i’ll be brief.

you know a weekend away is off to a good start when qantas pull their head in, put flights in the air, and you get to visit the qantas club thanks to jody and sue!

it meant very little standing around at gates, like this,

which was A Good Thing. we landed in melbourne safely and managed to (relatively painlessly) hire a couple of cars and hit the road.

lancefield was our destination, only a 45 minute drive northwestish from tullamarine. gorgeous little house, and no dramas picking rooms. then it was off to check out the village. lancefield, the knitters have arrived (no not the crapbookers!).

soundtrack for this photo here! we quickly found the place where they make coffee, which also had its very own little knitters grotto.

gotta watch out for those knitters at the bottom of the garden. we did some shopping (thanks to the fantastic local butcher with his home grown angus and the rump that does not lie). then it was back to the house, and i think it was about 430 when jane kind of coughed and said ‘why are we not drinking yet’? that was quickly remedied with her first G&T. we know its you behind that glass jane.

then  i took charge of the bbq for dinner and did a pretty good job, i have to say. it was much enjoyed, and the knitting and drinking and laughing continued well into the night.

in the morning, there was pyjama knitting. as in, knitting IN pyjamas, not knitting OF pyjamas. is there anything more decadent, really?

and then off to kyneton, where we may have popped into a yarn store, and jane may have bought some red yarn.

i didnt buy anything. nothing at all. i was saving my pennies for lunch, and oh was it worth it. we went to annie smithers, and if you’re ever in this part of the world, i’d really recommend it. fantastic service, including a really knowledgable and welcoming sommellier and food to die for.

i had scallops and prawns on bantam egg pasta in chili and garlic, duck confit with potatos and seville orange, and profiteroles with vanilla bean icecream and chocolate sauce. and two coffees. and they made me my very own fresh lime, mint and dry ginger drink, while everyone else quaffed local pinks, sparklings, reds, rieslings and stickys. we were there quite a few hours, and emerged in a kind of duck fat sugar coma. bliss. i had also ordered a cake for the ‘festival of scorpio’ (4 of us are having birthdays this month) and then again, there was much drinking, knitting and laughing that night.

i woke up sunday morning before everyone else and crept outside to watch the sun come up and listen to the magpies singing.

it was beautiful. later, we wandered off for breakfast, found a fantastic book store, and then gradually tidied up and headed back to melbourne. i cant really describe how great this weekend was. there were no nasty dynamics, lots of good natured ribbing (i was NOT texting the whole time i was there, despite what some people would have you think), and an ease of organisation i’ve not seen in a group of women before. it says something about how while it might be knitting that bought us all together, its the other things we share that keep us close.

a great idea ailsa. look forward to doing it all again next year!

k xx